2 Samuel 12-13 | Luke 16

“When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, ‘You are to say, “His disciples came during the night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’” Matthew 28:12-13

The fact that Jesus’s tomb was empty on the third day was never disputed. The question at hand is: Why was the tomb empty? The opening verse of this devotion gives us the first of the four most plausible reasons: the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus. The chief priests and the elders gave money to the soldiers to lie that Jesus’s body was stolen by the disciples. Even to this day, this is a popular explanation amongst Jewish circles for the empty tomb.

But think about it for just a moment. Firstly, the disciples were not expecting the resurrection. How do we know this? After the women witnessed Jesus’s resurrection, they went back to tell the disciples but “…they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Luke 24:11). In fact, the disciples were not expecting the crucifixion either, even though Jesus told them repeatedly that it would happen. The disciples’ understanding of Jesus’s agenda was setting up a throne in Israel, throwing off the Roman domination and restoring the independence and dignity of Israel once again. Therefore, to find a good reason why the disciples would steal Jesus’s body for something they were not expecting or did not believe in is difficult to substantiate.

Secondly, how do we account for the behaviour of the disciples before the crucifixion of Jesus? Mark 14:46, 50 reveals, “The men seized Jesus and arrested Him…. Then everyone deserted Him and fled.” The disciples ran away when Jesus was arrested; their behaviour was characterized by fear and cowardice. Thirdly, on the evening of Resurrection Day, “…the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After He said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19-20). The disciples were scared of the Jews and hid, but when Jesus appeared to them, the whole atmosphere changed from fear to confidence, from mourning to joy. Because Jesus is alive, these disciples became characterized by courage and boldness, something they had decidedly lacked earlier.

Within a few weeks, the disciples went around Jerusalem sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Many of the disciples were imprisoned and even martyred for preaching this truth. If these disciples had difficulty mustering the courage to stand up for the truth when Jesus was alive, before His crucifixion, how in the world do we explain the kind of courage they had if they were standing up for a lie, for a hoax, at the end of it?

PRAYER

Dear God, the fact that Jesus is alive is not a lie or a hoax. It is Your mighty work. Like the disciples, I ask for Your courage and boldness to share this truth with others. Thank You, Lord.